Oil well drilling structure



June 28, 1955 H. J. WOOLSLAYER ET AL 2,711,804

OIL WELL DRILLING STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 22, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 1955 H. J. WOOLSLAYER ET AL OIL WELL DRILLING STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 22.v 1950 IN V EN TOR.

5 0H. WELL DRILLRNG STRUQTURE Homer 3. Woolslaycr, Cecil Jenkins, and Charles D.

Iddings, Tulsa, Gide. assignors to Lee Moore Corporation, Pittsburgh, Eaga corporation of Pennsylvania j APPliCfifiOXl August 22, 195d, Serial No. 180,844

' 3 Claims. ((31. 189-15) This inventionrelates to oil well drilling structures,

and more particularly to the substructures that support the drilling derricks.

'Inmodernoil well drilling practice the derrick or mast aired States Patent 0 Zfil 1,804 Patented June 28, 1955 tion to their height and width, areeach fabricated from upper and-loWer-pairs ofbeams 1 and 2 connected by vertical columns 3; The upper beams of each frame are connected by horizontal cross pieces 4. These two frames spaced lengthwise thereof. The front shoe 11 is located generally is assembled in a reclining position along the I ground. Two feet of the mast then are pivoted to shoes on a'substructure, and the mast is swung up into upright position above the substructure and fastened there. in some cases the substructure is so high that it becomes necessary to raise the foot of the reclining mast several feet before it canbe pivoted to the shoes on the suba ramps for raising the foot of a reclining mast to the level of shoes on top of the'substructure,'and which has means for covering the open areas above the inclined ramps willn'ot interferern'aterially with connection of its feet to shoeson the'substructure.

In accordance with this invention a substructure framework supports a pair of laterally spaced shoes near its front end. Ramps are disposed in front of the shoes, preferably in downwardly extending recesses in the substructure. A drilling mast extends above the substructure, and has a pair of feet at its lower end detachably pivoted to the shoes. Small rollers project a very short distance from the front side of the mast approximately in front of its feet. These rollers are adapted to engage the upper ends of the ramps when the mast is swung forward and down to reclining position along the ground. When that is done and the feet have been disconnected from the shoes, the rollers can roll down the ramps to carry the foot of the mast down to a lower level. In connecting the mast to the substructure and raising it, the procedure just outlined is reversed. While the mast is in upright position the tops of the recesses in which the ramps are disposed are covered by removable cross members so that a floor can be laid over them. it is preferred to form these cross members and ramps into structural steel slabs that are hinged at their inner ends to the substructure framework. The slabs therefore can be swung from an inclined ramp-forming position up to horizontal position where they can be detachably secured so as to cover the ramp recesses in the substructure.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of our substructure with one ramp up and the other down; Fig. 2 is a side view of the substructure with both ramps up; Fig. 3 is a combined end view and vertical section taken on the line Ill-ill of Fig. l; and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line IVIV of Fig. 1, showing a ramp lowered. into operative position and supporting the foot of a reclining mast.

Referring to the drawings, a pair of laterally spaced box-like frames A and B, which are quite long in relaseveral feet behind theifront end of the frame, while the rear shoe 12 is-lo'cated at the rear end ofthe frame. The shoes receive the feet of an oil well derrickyas will be describe-d presently.

. Between each front shoe and the front end of the supporting frame the latter is provided betweenits upper beams 1 withv a structural steel slab C. The-innerends of the slabs are. connected by hinges 13 to front cross pieces 4, while their outer ends are connected to vertical plates 14 on the ends of the upper beams by means of removable fasteners 16. Each slab includes parallel cross members 17, across which an l-beam 18 extends.- Extending along the opposite edges of the top of this beam are spaced plates 19, so that a shallow channel is formed 2 along the top of the beam to provide a track. ..Each

. track extends from directly in front of one of the shoes after the mast has been raised. Another object is to provide" such 'a well drilling'structure in whieh'normal 11 to the front end of the associated substructure frame. By-removing fasteners 16, the slabs can be swung down intorecesses formed in the frames. Their downward movement is limited by cross members 20 attached to beamslil therefore form ramps leading upto the front 'va'riationsin height of the outer end of the reclining mast shoes on top of the substructure.

Whenthe slabs are down in inclined position, asshown in Fig. 4, the lowerends of the ramps are adapted to receive small rollers 22 that are mounted in brackets 23 projecting a very short distance down from the front or lower legs 24 of a reclining mast D, which has been assembled from prefabricated sections along the ground in front of the substructure. The rollers preferably are directly below the perforated feet 26 of the mast. Resting on the tapered lower portion of the mast (the portion closest to the substructure) is the usual folded gin pole E whose front feet are pivotally connected to the feet of the mast.

The mast is assembled along the ground with its rollers 22 resting in the lower ends of the ramp channels. The mast, with the folded gin pole resting on it, then is moved back toward the substructure. This can be done in several ways, such as by a bridle that has its ends connected to opposite sides of the substructure and that extends out into the mast where it is connected to the travelling block. When the drilling line to the draw works is reeled in, it pulls the crown block toward the travelling block and thereby forces the mast rollers 22 to roll up the ramps until the feet are in the front shoes 11. The feet 26 then can be fastened in the shoes by pivot pins, following which the gin pole E can be swung up into upright position and its back feet connected to the rear shoes 12 in the usual manner. Then the mast is swung up and back into upright position against the gin pole as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 4. When the mast is lowered, this procedure is just reversed.

By locating the rollers as close as possible to the feet of the mast, normal slight variations in the height of the outer end of the reclining mast relative to the substructure will not tilt the feet enough around the rollers to make it difiicult to pin them to the shoes. When the mast is in upright position on the substructure the slabs C are swung up to the top of the frame recesses and fastened there by fasteners 16. Flooring then can be laid across the slabs as well as on the rest of the substructure.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. A well drilling structure comprising a substructure framework, a pair of laterally spaced shoes mounted on the framework near its front end and several feet above the ground, forwardly and downwardly extending ramps disposed in front of the shoes in alignment therewith and supported entirely by said framework, a drilling mast extending above said framework and having a pair of feet at the lower end of the front side of the mast, means detachably pivoting the feet to said shoes, and small rollers projecting a very short distance from the front side of the mast approximately in front of said feet, said rollers being in alignment with the ramps in order to engage the upper ends of the ramps when the mast is swung forward and down to reclining position along the ground, whereby the rollers can roll down the ramps after said feet have been disconnected from the shoes and thereby carry the feet down to a lower level.

2. A well drilling structure comprising a substructure framework, a pair of laterally spaced shoes mounted on the framework near its front end several feet above the ground, the framework being provided with an open top recess extending from each shoe forward through the front end of the framework, ramps disposed in said recesses and extending forward and downward from the shoes in alignment therewith, means hinging the upper ends of the ramps to said framework to permit the ramps to be raised to horizontal position, removable cross members for the tops of said recesses connected to the ramps for movement with them, a drilling mast extending above said framework and having a pair of feet at the lower Liu end of the front side of the mast, means detachably pivoting the feet to said shoes, and small rollers projecting a short distance from the front side of the mast at said feet, said rollers being in alignment with the ramps in order to engage the ramps and roll down them after the mast is swung forward and down to reclining position along the ground following lowering of the ramps and said cross members from the tops of said recesses.

3. A well drilling structure comprising a substructure framework, a pair of laterally spaced shoes mounted on the framework near its front end several feet above the ground, the framework being provided with an open top recess extending from each shoe forward through the front end of the framework, ramps disposed in said recesses and extending forward and downward from the shoes in alignment therewith, means hinging the upper ends of the ramps to said framework to permit the ramps to be raised to horizontal position to form part of the top of the framework, a drilling mast extending above said framework and having a pair of feet at the lower end of the front side of the mast, and means detachably pivoting the feet to said shoes, the mast being provided with ramp-engageable surfaces at the front of said feet, said surfaces being in alignment with the ramps in order to engage the upper ends of the ramps and move down them after the mast is swung forward and down to reclining position along the ground following lowering of the ramps from the tops of said recesses.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,262,930 Diaz Apr. 16, 1918 1,862,682 Judd June 14, 1932 2,300,480 Woolslayer et al. Nov. 3, 1942 2,327,680 Tavaris Aug. 24, 1943 2,344,390 Cohen Mar. 14, 1944 2,387,082 Malling Oct. 16, 1945 2,429,010 Woolslayer et al Oct. 14, 1947 

